Hundreds of North Carolina seniors lost millions of dollars in recent years after an insurance agent allegedly convinced them to invest in pay phone leasing contracts in order to secure a steady income stream, The contracts called for the investors to purchase pay phones for several thousand dollars apiece. The leasing company that sold the phones supposedly would lease them back, place them in locations throughout the southeast, service them, and make lease payments after deducting their expenses. Cellular telephones have reduced income from pay phones considerably, so most of the money collected in these leasing schemes went only to the people who sold the phones and leased them back from the victims.